Skip to main content

Pisko, Seraphine Eppstein, 1861-1942

 Person

Biography

Seraphine Eppstein Pisko (1861-1942) was known for her charitable work in Denver, Colorado, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and she was most likely the first Jewish woman in America to head a national Jewish organization. She was born to Max and Bertha Eppstein on January 1, 1861, in St. Joseph, Missouri, and the family moved to Denver in 1875. She married Denver businessman Edward Pisko in 1878 when she was seventeen, and the couple moved to New York. Within a few years he died, and she returned to Denver. She never remarried, but raised five children. Seraphine Pisko served as president of the Hebrew Ladies' Benevolent Society and of the Denver Chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW). She later became vice president of the NCJW board at the national level. She began working at National Jewish Hospital for Consumptives (NJH) as a field secretary, a fundraiser, in 1900, and in 1911 she became the executive secretary of National Jewish Hospital and served in that position until 1938 when she retired. Pisko was actively involved in both Jewish and secular social organizations, gaining national renown for her organizational strengths as well as her social efforts. She died in Denver in 1942.

Found in 51 Collections and/or Records:

Grabfelder and Pisko Correspondence, 1920 January-June

 File
Identifier: B005.01.0001.0022
Abstract

Correspondence related to Samuel Grabfelder, President of NJH, and Seraphine Pisko, Secretary of NJH

Dates: 1920 January-June

Grabfelder, Pisko, Flesher, Vollmer Correspondence, 1916 July-December

 File
Identifier: B005.01.0001.0014
Abstract

Correspondence related to Samuel Grabfelder, President of NJH, Seraphine Pisko, Secretary of NJH, B. Flesher, and Vollmer

Dates: 1916 July-December

Invitation to Dedications and Banquet, 1922 June 23

 Item
Identifier: B242.02.0001.0002.00001
Abstract Invitation to building dedications and a banquet and dance by the trustees of the National Jewish Hospital for Consumptives. The dedications were of the Louis D. Beaumont Home for Nurses and The Hofheimer Children's Building at the hospital, both built largely through the efforts of Seraphine Pisko. A banquet and dance was held at the Albany Hotel. Seraphine Eppstein Pisko (1861-1942) began working at National Jewish Hospital for Consumptives as a field secretary, fund raiser, in 1900. In...
Dates: 1922 June 23

Marianne Pisko Hausmann Pen and Ink Drawing

 Collection
Identifier: B198
Abstract Marianne Pisko Hausmann (1880-1969) was born in Vienna, Austria and studied at the Academy of the Austrian Museum of Art and Industry in Vienna. She moved to Denver in 1939 to join her daughter Margaret Grieg, an ophthamologist who had settled in Denver in 1938. Marianne was the niece of Denver Jewish pioneer Edward Pisko, who was elected a Colorado Territorial Representative in 1875. Her aunt by marriage, Seraphine Pisko, served as the executive director of National Jewish Hospital from...
Dates: circa 1910-1918

Miscellaneous Materials - S. Pisko, 1923

 File
Identifier: B005.01.0002.0001
Abstract

Miscellanous materials related to S. Pisko, tuberculosis, press/newspaper clippings

Dates: 1923

N. Dauby and S. Pisko Correspondence, 1923 July-December

 File
Identifier: B005.01.0002.0005
Abstract

Correspondence related to N. Dauby and S. Pisko, Pisko file

Dates: 1923 July-December

National Jewish Hospital Newsletter Covers, between 1929-1939

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0036.00050
Abstract

Three covers of the NJH newsletter. From January, 1931 "Dedicated to Mrs. Seraphine Pisko." From May, 1929 "Nature's Sovereign Remedy by I. D. Bronfin." From May, 1939 a picture of two patients with a caption "Convalescents, The bloom of health is on their cheeks again."

Dates: between 1929-1939

National Jewish Hospital Records

 Collection
Identifier: B005
Abstract In 1899, the Jewish community erected the non-sectarian National Jewish Hospital for Consumptives (NJH), the first sanatorium in Denver, Colorado, for tuberculosis victims. With the financial assistance of the International B'nai B'rith fraternal organization, patients from all over the U.S. were admitted free of charge. The NJH adopted a program that emphasized the benefits of fresh air, proper nutrition, and rest. The hospital was founded by a group of Jewish residents of Denver who were...
Dates: 1892-2017

Oral History Interview with Surriee Miller, 1979 July 19

 Item
Identifier: B098.07.0009.00006
Abstract

Topics Covered: Family background and immigrating, growing up in Denver with 8 other siblings, Jewish community, working at the Jewish Community Center, nature of the Center’s work; mentions Isadore Rude, Bloomfield, Guldman, Pisko and many others; camp, loved working at the Center.

Dates: 1979 July 19

Additional filters:

Type
Archival Object 48
Collection 3
 
Subject
Denver (Colo.) 47
Colorado 42
Tuberculosis 40
Jews 37
Medicine 34